A week ago, BJP workers and UP police clashed in Moradabad over the same issue. This time, sadhus and kanwarias will be going.

Just over a week ago, on July 4, the Uttar Pradesh police stopped the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attempt to hold a mahapanchayat at Kanth subdivision of Moradabad to protest against the removal of a loudspeaker from a local temple. In the pitched battle that ensued between BJP supporters and security forces, scores were injured and a large number of leaders and workers of the saffron party were taken into custody.

Yet, even before Moradabad could regain normalcy, fresh attempts are being made to keep the communal pot boiling. A Hindutva outfit, Akhil Bharatiya Sadhu Parishad, has started mobilising sadhus to perform the Jalabhishek ceremony at the temple in Moradabad.

“On the day of Mahashivratri (July 25), a large number of sadhus from all over the country will visit this temple and perform Jalabhishek,” a Haridwar-based sadhu, Swami Yatindranand Giri, told Scroll.in over the phone.

Giri, who is the national convener of this outfit, said the Parishad took the decision at a meeting of its office-bearers at Hardwar on Sunday.

The temple from which the loudspeaker was removed is situated at Akbarpur Chendri village in the Kanth subdivision of Moradabad. The trouble in the village began following the local administration’s decision to remove the loudspeaker from this temple on June 26. The local administration argues that the loudspeaker was removed because it was lying there illegally and that there is no tradition of it being mounted on this temple on any day other than Shivratri. BJP leaders, however, claim that the loudspeaker has been at the temple for last 40 years and was removed at the behest of the local MLA, Aneesur Rahman, who belongs to the Peace Party.

On June 27, protesting against the removal of the loudspeaker, a group of locals, including members of some right-wing organisations, held a roadblock at Kanth and clashed with the police. Soon after, the BJP announced that it would organise a mahapanchayat, scheduled for July 4, which would be attended by all BJP MPs from western Uttar Pradesh and other local leaders of the party. The decision was widely criticised, and the Bharatiya Kisan Union, which has great influence in western Uttar Pradesh, called the move a “gimmick” of the BJP to divert attention of farmers from its bid to amend the Land Acquisition Act.

In any case, the police acted swiftly, arresting a good number of the BJP leaders and workers and chasing away the rest of them on July 4.

Yet, India’s ruling party is now keeping its distance. Yatindranand Giri asserted that “it has nothing to do with the BJP” and that “it is purely an agitation by the sadhus”. Giri, who heads the Sadhu Parishad, has been closely associated with the Sangh Parivar. In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he contested from Haridwar parliamentary constituency on a BJP ticket. He lost to the Congress candidate.

Giri said the Sadhu Parishad would seek help from Hindu organisations like the Bajrang Dal. “It is a cause of Hindus; the local units of Bajrang Dal and and other similar organisations will help us in our effort to mobilise locals to perform Jalabhishek on the occasion of Mahashivratri in that temple,” said Yatindranand Giri.

The Parishad has also planned an awareness drive regarding the issue among kanwarias (devotees of Shiva), who will come to Hardwar to fetch water from river Ganga to be poured on the Shivlinga in their respective towns and villages. “We will launch an awareness drive among kanwarias and encourage them to attend the Jalabhishek at Akbarpur Chendri on this year’s Mahashivratri,” Giri said.

This year, the month of Shravan, when the Kanwarias make this journey, begins on July 13. “Sadhus associated with the Parishad will start educating the Kanwarias as soon as they arrive in Hardwar,” the Parishad chief said.

The right machine can save water, power consumption, time, energy and your clothes from damage.

In 2010, Han Rosling, a Swedish statistician, convinced a room full of people that the washing machine was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution. In the TED talk delivered by him, he illuminates how the washing machine freed women from doing hours of labour intensive laundry, giving them the time to read books and eventually join the labour force. Rosling’s argument rings true even today as it is difficult to deny the significance of the washing machine in our everyday lives.

For many households, buying a washing machine is a sizable investment. Oddly, buyers underestimate the importance of the decision-making process while buying one and don’t research the purchase as much as they would for a television or refrigerator. Most buyers limit their buying criteria to type, size and price of the washing machine.

Visible technological advancements can be seen all around us, making it fair to expect a lot more from household appliances, especially washing machines. Here are a few features to expect and look out for before investing in a washing machine:

Cover your basics

Do you wash your towels every day? How frequently do you do your laundry? Are you okay with a bit of manual intervention during the wash cycle? These questions will help filter the basic type of washing machine you need. The semi-automatics require manual intervention to move clothes from the washing tub to the drying tub and are priced lower than a fully-automatic. A fully-automatic comes in two types: front load and top load. Front loading machines use less water by rotating the inner drum and using gravity to move the clothes through water.

Simple steps to get the best from your washing machineSimple steps to get the best from your washing machineSimple steps to get the best from your washing machine

Size matters

The size or the capacity of the machine is directly proportional to the consumption of electricity. The right machine capacity depends on the daily requirement of the household. For instance, for couples or individuals, a 6kg capacity would be adequate whereas a family of four might need an 8 kg or bigger capacity for their laundry needs. This is an important factor to consider since the wrong decision can consume an unnecessary amount of electricity.

Machine intelligence that helps save time

In situations when time works against you and your laundry, features of a well-designed washing machine can come to rescue. There are programmes for urgent laundry needs that provide clean laundry in a super quick 15 to 30 minutes’ cycle; a time delay feature that can assist you to start the laundry at a desired time etc. Many of these features dispel the notion that longer wash cycles mean cleaner clothes. In fact, some washing machines come with pre-activated wash cycles that offer shortest wash cycles across all programmes without compromising on cleanliness.

The green quotient

Despite the conveniences washing machines offer, many of them also consume a substantial amount of electricity and water. By paying close attention to performance features, it’s possible to find washing machines that use less water and energy. For example, there are machines which can adjust the levels of water used based on the size of the load. The reduced water usage, in turn, helps reduce the usage of electricity. Further, machines that promise a silent, no-vibration wash don’t just reduce noise – they are also more efficient as they are designed to work with less friction, thus reducing the energy consumed.

Customisable washing modes

Crushed dresses, out-of-shape shirts and shrunken sweaters are stuff of laundry nightmares. Most of us would rather take out the time to hand wash our expensive items of clothing rather than trusting the washing machine. To get the dirt out of clothes, washing machines use speed to first agitate the clothes and spin the water out of them, a process that takes a toll on the fabric. Fortunately, advanced machines come equipped with washing modes that control speed and water temperature depending on the fabric. While jeans and towels can endure a high-speed tumble and spin action, delicate fabrics like silk need a gentler wash at low speeds. Some machines also have a monsoon mode. This is an India specific mode that gives clothes a hot rinse and spin to reduce drying time during monsoons. A super clean mode will use hot water to clean the clothes deeply.

Washing machines have come a long way, from a wooden drum powered by motor to high-tech machines that come equipped with automatic washing modes. Bosch washing machines include all the above-mentioned features and provide damage free laundry in an energy efficient way. With 32 different washing modes, Bosch washing machines can create custom wash cycles for different types of laundry, be it lightly soiled linens, or stained woollens. The ActiveWater feature in Bosch washing machines senses the laundry load and optimises the usage of water and electricity. Its EcoSilentDrive motor draws energy from a permanent magnet, thereby saving energy and giving a silent wash. The fear of expensive clothes being wringed to shapelessness in a washing machine is a common one. The video below explains how Bosch’s unique VarioDrumTM technology achieves damage free laundry.